Zoe Pogonowski's Story

From schoolgirl tutor to computer whiz ...

Two themes characterise Zoe Pogonowski's professional life: IT (information technology) and education.

Zoe's passion for IT stemmed from a natural aptitude for mathematics at school in Melbourne, combined with exposure to computers from an early age

"Dad brought our first PC home when I was seven - he even extended the mortgage on the house to afford it! Everything was still MS-DOS back then, so I was lucky enough to experience IT before 'The Mouse Age', and then grew up through every version of Windows!

"The machines and programs were so primitive, but they taught me that almost any problem can be solved with patience and persistence. When we had a problem Dad usually made us look in the Help files before getting involved himself. That way we learned how to help ourselves."

Zoe's love of education is inherited from her mother, who is also a teacher. It started with an invitation to tutor fellow maths students while she was still at school.

"When I was in year 11 a teacher asked a bunch of us if anyone would be interested in helping a Year 10 student with her homework, I volunteered. I had taught myself mathematics ahead of the school syllabus, so it seemed logical that I could teach others too. Helping people achieve what they'd thought was impossible is such a rewarding experience."

Subsequently Zoe was asked to join her school's Year 7 tutoring program, and later began tutoring struggling maths students privately.

"Mathematics and IT are closely related, because they both require logic and problem-solving skills. I'm passionate about fostering students' interest in these subjects, because it gives them life skills beyond trigonometry, algebra and Powerpoint." Having achieved a tertiary entrance score in the top four percent of the State, Zoe initially studied Performing Arts but found that she was too much of a 'family and friends' person to give up everything for a life on the stage.

Intending to become a drama/maths teacher, Zoe then switched to a Science/Education course, majoring in maths and physics and taking computer programming as an elective almost by accident.

Although Zoe knew how to use a computer, The only programming she had done was in 8th Grade building a basic HTML website. She took to it like a duck to water, though, and discovered a hidden talent. The next semester she transferred to a computer science degree!

Zoe visited Port Macquarie to help a family friend at his art gallery during a uni break, and loved the NSW Mid North Coast area and the job so much that she decided to stay. A year and a half later she left the gallery after deciding that art wasn't really her field, but remained in Port Macquarie. She re-commenced her university course via correspondence, and started her own business.

XYZ Support (it was originally called XYZ Computing) launched in 2007, with a focus on helping small businesses and home users to understand technology and use it to their advantage.

Services include website construction, application programming and IT support as well as group workshops on key computing subjects and one-on-one mathematics and computer tutoring.

To answer a frequently asked question - Why "XYZ"? - Zoe credits two close family friends for coming up with the name.

"When I decided to start my own business I didn't have a name in mind, so I emailed my family and friends asking for suggestions. My Aunt Den and Uncle Pete cleverly suggested "XYZ", because the original plan was to tutor retirees with their computers. "ABC" is often associated with children's early learning, and because my clientele was to be predominantly older people it made sense to use the last three letters of the alphabet! On top of that, I'm always a fan of double meanings. XYZ is the generic brand name, which I love, people use the phrase in daily life, it has my initial in it, and that X, Y, and Z are the names for the co-ordinate axes in algebra"

Demand for XYZ Support's services has grown to the point where Zoe employs three people part-time. She plans to expand the company's range of services in the ever-changing IT industry.